Are you struggling to manage people who are older than you?

Lindsey Pollak explains that cross-generational dynamics in the workplace are becoming increasingly complex, driven by rapid technological advancements and longer career spans.

As a workplace expert and author of The Remix: How to Lead and Succeed in the Multigenerational Workplace, Pollak addresses listener questions about motivating older direct reports and engaging senior employees who may be skeptical about new technology. She also offers practical advice for navigating situations where you've been promoted ahead of more experienced colleagues.

Key episode topics include: leadership, business communication, motivating people, age and generational issues, leading teams, leading across difference.

HBR On Leadership curates the best case studies and conversations with the world’s top business and management experts, to help you unlock the best in those around you. New episodes every week.

· Listen to the original Dear HBR episode: Managing Older Workers (2019)

· Find more episodes of Dear HBR.

· Discover 100 years of Harvard Business Review articles, case studies, podcasts, and more at HBR.org.

How can you tell if you’re on your company’s leadership fast track?

Jay Conger, a leadership professor at Claremont McKenna College, notes that many organizations quietly maintain and update lists of high-potential employees.

In this episode, he offers advice for what to do if you suspect you’re on the list. In addition, Conger shares his research on the five critical “X factors” that distinguish high-potential employees. Discover what these traits are and how you can leverage them to enhance your career.

Key episode topics include: leadership, career planning, developing employees, leadership development, talent management.

HBR On Leadership curates the best case studies and conversations with the world’s top business and management experts, to help you unlock the best in those around you. New episodes every week.

· Listen to the original HBR IdeaCast episode: Does Your Firm See You as a High Potential? (2018)

· Find more episodes of HBR IdeaCast.

· Discover 100 years of Harvard Business Review articles, case studies, podcasts, and more at HBR.org.

Being the most knowledgeable and experienced person on your team can seem advantageous. However, Sydney Finkelstein, an expert in leadership and talent development, warns that expertise can lead you astray in two significant ways: it may stifle your curiosity about new developments and foster overconfidence in your problem-solving abilities.

In this episode, Finkelstein explores these pitfalls and proposes a crucial supplement to expertise: the importance of becoming more humble and open-minded. He also offers research-backed advice on how to cultivate these qualities as a leader.

Finkelstein is a professor at Dartmouth’s Tuck School of Business and the author of the book Superbosses: How Exceptional Leaders Master the Flow of Talent.

Key episode topics include: leadership, leadership qualities, emotional intelligence, ambition, humility, listening skills, learning, Steve Jobs.

HBR On Leadership curates the best case studies and conversations with the world’s top business and management experts, to help you unlock the best in those around you. New episodes every week.

· Listen to the original HBR IdeaCast episode: Avoiding the Expertise Trap (2019)

· Find more episodes of HBR IdeaCast.

· Discover 100 years of Harvard Business Review articles, case studies, podcasts, and more at HBR.org.

Oprah Winfrey isn’t just a public figure—she’s the wealthiest woman in the entertainment industry and the first African-American woman billionaire. But how did she rise from a daytime talk show host to a media mogul? What leadership skills did she develop along the way?

In this episode, Harvard Business School executive fellow Bill George explores the challenges Oprah faced on her path to success and how she overcame them. He explains how she shifted away from people-pleasing, found her unique voice, and embraced vulnerability as a key leadership strength.

Key episode topics include: leadership, entrepreneurship, race, media, TV, entertainment.

HBR On Leadership curates the best case studies and conversations with the world’s top business and management experts, to help you unlock the best in those around you. New episodes every week.

· Listen to the original Cold Call episode: Black Business Leaders Series: Oprah’s Path to Authentic Leadership (2018)

· Find more episodes of Cold Call

· Discover 100 years of Harvard Business Review articles, case studies, podcasts, and more at HBR.org

When you think of "office politics," you might picture someone hoarding information or taking credit for others' work. While negative stereotypes persist, learning to navigate office politics is crucial for leadership — and you can do it without sacrificing your principles or authenticity.

In this episode, organizational psychologist Madeleine Wyatt, along with a guest from the management consulting field, discusses how to become more politically savvy at work by mastering four essential skills: apparent sincerity, networking, and interpersonal influence.

Key episode topics include: leadership, office politics, power and influence, business services sector.

HBR On Leadership curates the best case studies and conversations with the world’s top business and management experts, to help you unlock the best in those around you. New episodes every week.

· Listen to the original Women at Work episode: The Essentials: Playing Office Politics (2023)

· Find more episodes of Women at Work.

· Discover 100 years of Harvard Business Review articles, case studies, podcasts, and more at HBR.org.

What makes a leader truly effective? Is it about strategic vision, time management, confidence?

Robert Steven Kaplan says the best leaders are exceptionally good at asking tough questions so they can make the right decisions. He is the author of the book What to Ask the Person in the Mirror: Critical Questions for Becoming a More Effective Leader and Reaching Your Potential.

He explains how to frame better questions to get the answers you need to make decisions. He also discusses how to use questions to clarify your key priorities and how to make sure you’re then spending your time in service of them.

Key episode topics include: leadership, managing yourself, critical questions, decision-making, tough questions, analysis.

HBR On Leadership curates the best case studies and conversations with the world’s top business and management experts, to help you unlock the best in those around you. New episodes every week.

· Listen to the original HBR IdeaCast episode: Key Questions for Leaders (2011)

· Find more episodes of HBR IdeaCast

· Discover 100 years of Harvard Business Review articles, case studies, podcasts, and more at HBR.org

If you had to describe your company’s culture in a single word, what would it be? Are you super flexible and casual? Are you collaborative and inclusive?

Software executive Richard Sheridan argues that one key quality is missing from too many workplaces today: joy.

As CEO of Menlo Innovations, an enterprise software company based in Michigan, Sheridan deliberately focuses on cultivating joy in his company. His 2018 book, Chief Joy Officer: How Great Leaders Elevate Human Energy and Eliminate Fear, offers guidance for how to create joy at work — and why it’s so important for innovation.

He explains the difference between joy and happiness and how to harness joy in service of a larger project. He also discusses how, as a leader, you can model joy for your team and why joy and a culture of fear are incompatible.

Key episode topics include: leadership, managing people, emotional intelligence.

HBR On Leadership curates the best case studies and conversations with the world’s top business and management experts, to help you unlock the best in those around you. New episodes every week.

· Listen to the original HBR IdeaCast episode: How One CEO Creates Joy at Work (2018)

· Find more episodes of HBR IdeaCast.

· Discover 100 years of Harvard Business Review articles, case studies, podcasts, and more at HBR.org.

Are you stuck in a negative rut with someone at work?

HBR contributing editor and workplace conflict expert Amy Gallo says repairing a broken professional relationship will improve your work life — whether it’s your boss, a coworker, or even your employee.

In this episode, she breaks down the different types of relationship conflicts that are common at work and the steps you can take to move forward — starting with more empathy and less ego.

Key episode topics include: leadership, careers, managing conflicts, difficult conversations.

HBR On Leadership curates the best case studies and conversations with the world’s top business and management experts, to help you unlock the best in those around you. New episodes every week.

· Watch the original HBR Guide episode: Fixing a Broken Relationship at Work (2024)

· Find more episodes of the HBR Guide series on YouTube.

· Discover 100 years of Harvard Business Review articles, case studies, podcasts, and more at HBR.org.

Do you have an employee who just gets on your nerves?

In this episode, Dear HBR cohosts Alison Beard and Dan McGinn answer listener questions with the help of Art Markman, former professor of psychology at the University of Texas at Austin and now the school’s Senior Vice Provost for Academic Affairs.

They talk through how to manage someone who is difficult, overly polite, or passive aggressive. Markman also offers advice for how to give your initial feedback and then follow up. He also has tips for coaching an employee who needs to improve their communication skills.

Key episode topics include: leadership, managing people, managing conflicts, difficult conversations.

HBR On Leadership curates the best case studies and conversations with the world’s top business and management experts, to help you unlock the best in those around you. New episodes every week.

· Listen to the original Dear HBR episode: Annoying Subordinates (2018)

· Find more episodes of Dear HBR.

· Discover 100 years of Harvard Business Review articles, case studies, podcasts, and more at HBR.org.

Amid the racial reckoning that followed George Floyd’s murder in 2020, many U.S. business leaders promised to make workplaces more diverse, equitable, and inclusive. But these efforts have now slowed, and many DEI teams have faced cuts, and calls for anti-racist leadership have all but disappeared.

In this episode, James White, the former CEO of Jamba Juice, and his daughter and coauthor Krista White offer advice on how corporate leaders can promote lasting change in their organizations and society at large. They also discuss why it’s so important to engage middle managers in inclusion work—and how to do that.

James and Krista White are coauthors of the book Anti-Racist Leadership: How to Transform Corporate Culture in a Race-Conscious World.

Key episode topics include: leadership, race, diversity and inclusion, leadership and managing people.

HBR On Leadership curates the best case studies and conversations with the world’s top business and management experts, to help you unlock the best in those around you. New episodes every week.

· Listen to the original HBR IdeaCast episode: DEI Isn’t Enough; Companies Need Anti-Racist Leadership (2022)

· Find more episodes of HBR IdeaCast.

· Discover 100 years of Harvard Business Review articles, case studies, podcasts, and more at HBR.org.

Think of a large company you admire. What kind of leadership culture do they have — and how does that affect their ability to innovate?

If you went right to command-and-control leadership, you’re not alone. It’s a common approach to leading large organizations. But MIT Sloan School of Management researchers Deborah Ancona and Kate Isaacs argue that big organizations can be nimble if they have three types of leaders in the mix: entrepreneurial, enabling, and architecting.

In this episode, Ancona and Isaacs explain how some large organizations continually develop new talent by empowering employees to lead in their area of expertise and make choices about the projects to which they contribute. They also discuss the structures these companies have created to support leaders and their teams as they transition from hierarchical leadership to more autonomous ways of working.

Key episode topics include: leadership, innovation, business management.

HBR On Leadership curates the best case studies and conversations with the world’s top business and management experts, to help you unlock the best in those around you. New episodes every week.

· Listen to the original HBR IdeaCast episode: The 3 Types of Leaders of Innovative Companies (2019)

· Find more episodes of HBR IdeaCast.

· Discover 100 years of Harvard Business Review articles, case studies, podcasts, and more at HBR.org.